Perak recorded the second highest case in the Peninsula involving illegal Bitcoin mining activities, with a total loss of RM5.49 billion to Tenaga Nasional Berhad since 2018.
Perak Infrastructure, Energy, Water and Public Transport Exco, Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin said, this activity was detected through the modification of electricity meters and illegal supply connections to avoid paying for energy consumption.
As of February this year, TNB has taken action against 17,489 premises nationwide, with Perak alone involving 4,283 premises.
According to a Sinar Harian report, the Manjung district recorded the highest number with 1,742 premises, involving an estimated loss of RM53.4 million. This was followed by Perak Tengah (Seri Iskandar) with 857 premises with a loss of around RM26.2 million. Most of the cases in these two areas were identified as repeated cases involving interference with meter installation.
He said this during the winding up session of the Motion to Appreciate the Sultan of Perak's Address at the Perak State Legislative Assembly (DUN) on Tuesday.
The sudden increase in the price of Bitcoin by 732% since 2018 has been identified as the main factor driving the surge in illegal mining activities.
To combat this activity, he proposed more active involvement of local authorities (PBT), especially in the aspects of licensing, land use and building security. Actions such as closing or seizing premises are seen as being able to strengthen overall enforcement efforts.
At the same time, TNB is now leveraging the latest technology including the use of drones and data analysis to detect suspicious premises. This approach allows electricity consumption patterns to be analyzed more accurately, including through 'meter events' for premises that use smart meters.
Provisions under Section 37 of the Electricity Supply Act 1990 also empower the Royal Malaysian Police to take action against offences involving disruption of meter installation.
In addition, Section 38 of the same act allows TNB to recover revenue losses and related costs due to disruptions to the electricity supply system.
